Not a Dry Eye in the House

Do your eyes feel dry, irritated, or even scratchy? Made worse by reading or working on the computer? Is the wearing of your contact lenses becoming less and less comfortable?

If you said "yes" to these questions, you may have dry eye syndrome. You’re not alone and you don't have to live with it.

What is it and who gets it?

The term "dry eye” describes an eye that isn’t fresh, moist and comfortable.
The problem affects many people, but people who wear contact lenses and those who spend prolonged times working on a computer are particularly susceptible, as are people who have hormonal changes and health problems.

It’s all to do with the quantity and quality of your tears, this can be affected by a number of factors such as diseases, for example acne rosacea, hormonal imbalance, eyelid abnormalities, medications, such as antihistamines, decongestants and birth control, and environmental factors (pollution, air conditioning and central heating)

How does chronic dry eye feel?

• Discomfort: Burning, stinging, feeling gritty or sensitive to light.
• Foreign body sensation: Feels like you have grit in the eye.
• Redness: A red eye is an unhappy eye. Sometimes, it's dry eye.
• Fatigue: Your eyes feel like everything is hard work.
• Uncomfortable contact lenses: Contact lenses upset the tear film automatically, so an unknown mild dry eye can become a problem. But stopping wearing the lenses does not have to be the solution, there may be a remedy.

Is it dry eye or something else?

If you think you have dry eyes, talk the optometrist. With some simple test and careful investigation they may be able to put a care plan together for your eyes that should bring back the comfort you are after.

It may be that it is not a straight forward dry eye problem and of course the Optometrist will be able to give you the best advice.

Don’t just put up with uncomfortable eyes, talk to an Optometrist!